This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In the field of processor-based systems, such as computer systems, it may be desirable for information to be transferred from one system to another system via a network. Networks may be arranged to allow information, such as files or programs, to be shared across an office, a building, or any geographic boundary. While these networks may be used to increase productivity, they also expose computer systems to security risks, such as interception of confidential data by unauthorized parties, loss of data integrity, unauthorized access to the computer systems on the network, and the like.
A wide variety of security measures may be employed to secure data in a networked environment. For example, security components or modules may be used to attest to the settings within the computer system. In other words, the security modules may certify that the computer system is a valid system, which may be trusted by other systems. Such a security module may be utilized by the computer system to seal information on the computer system to protect the information. The sealed information may be encrypted with a unique key from one of the security modules to prevent unauthorized access. However, if multiple security modules are utilized in a single computer system, different security modules may seal the information. Other security modules may not be able to unseal the information because the key utilized to encrypt the information is not known. As a result, sealed information may be undecipherable by the computer system or other security modules if the key used to seal the information is not known. The inability to decipher the sealed information may result in problems that prohibit effective operation of the computer system.
For example, if two security modules are utilized in a computer system, each of the security modules may utilize its own keys to encrypt or seal information for the computer system. If one of the security modules is damaged, access to the information that was stored in or for the security module may not be obtainable. As such, the loss of a single security module may hinder the operation of the computer system as a whole and prevent access to specific information within the computer system. In addition, with multiple security modules in a single computer system, the security modules may not be able to determine which security module sealed the information. As a result, the security modules may be unable to verify that the appropriate security module key has been used to unseal the information.